hey, all.basically grew up on or near water my whole life, was a navy brat, did navy time and was also a merchant marine for a decade. i love water...any kind. recently picked up an '88...been lusting after an h16 since the early '70s. never quite had the right amount of freedom to make it worthwhile 'til now. i was <10 yrs when they came out and had a higher interest in boston whalers then. alas, never had one of those either. been reading/searching this site and the webs for everything and anything related to set-up, repair, accessories, etc. since the opportunity to acquire my 16 presented itself.on to the questions...i'd like to get a masthead light w/o over doing the expense. problem seems to be, how to conveniently turn it on. i realize strapping flashlights to the stays would be convenient but i'd rather have as little lighting interfering with my night vision as possible, hence, the masthead. anyone have a sensible solution?what about accessories...what have you found to be useful while on the water? aside from safety gear and pfds, my thoughts are leaning towards some sort of small gear bag, a cooler, and an oar. gotta have a place to put things and a way to negotiate calms. yeah, i said oar. i figure a detachable oarlock on the rear crossbar and i could sweep the oar to better effect rather than trying to paddle the thing like a canoe....and, finally, does anyone christen their 16?hoping to hear good answers.tia

Why do you want a mast light? To intentionally sail at night? Although I admit there were a couple nights I thought looked like good sailing, a Hobie 16 isn't really an overnight boat. They are fast, and unless you have a huge open lake, you are always busy, and I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it at night. Maybe after you have LOTS of experience with it. If there is any wind, you can't really relax or nap.

As far as the oar, you would be surprised to see how well an H16 paddles, just like a canoe. It is a very efficient hull. I keep a bungee strapped under the tramp in the center lacing to keel the rudders straight when paddling.

I do keep a small duffle clipped to the tramp with a carribeener. I keep a selection of spare parts, a pair of pliers, a big flat screwdriver, and a sharp folding knife. If I am going to be out a while, I will throw a couple water bottles in there.

my thoughts for boat usage may seem strange to some of you but here in the susquehanna valley we don't have constant prevailing winds and there's certainly no 15 knot offshore breeze. my waters are surrounded by trees and consist of narrow channels between islands and the banks of the river. there are deep and wide expanses of river for when i want to let it all hang out but the boat will perform multiple roles as a fishing platform, lazy day paddler and, primarily, recreational sailer. it's a toy...a potentially very demanding toy but, nonetheless, i plan to get everything out of it i can given the waters i'll be sailing.

yes, i intend to sail at night, during the day, during rain, snow and hail. we don't have surf here on the susquehanna river or i'd be in that, too. the rapids, however, are no place for a glass boat. so, lighting is desirable...i'm not a fair weather sailor.

i found the more correct term for the form of propulsion i mentioned to be sculling. sculling with a single oar, regardless how easy paddling a 16 may be, will always be more efficient = less tiring = more powerful = longer distances while enjoying the experience as opposed to cursing it. i wouldn't want, on a calm day, to paddle upstream a mile to see bald eagles nesting. sculling would be, figuratively, a walk in the park.